“The importance of creativity is something that the World Economic Forum has pointed out to us recently as one of the key competencies of people in the future and in their careers.”
This is what Joss Williams, Head Teacher at Earlscliffe had to say as he introduced the Dukes Club’s most recent guests – a panel of speakers from the Ambassador Theatre Group who delivered a talk on the varied career paths available in the world of theatre.
Conor Hunt, Creative Learning Producer at ATG, was joined by Aran Cherkez, West End Director, practitioner and Artistic Director of Haringey Shed, and Matt Turbett, General Manager of the Pheonix Theatre. The three went on to share their own personal journeys into careers in the art world.
Whilst studying a degree in physics, Matt told us how he started out with fringe theatre performances. He loved learning how these small-scale performances worked and threw himself into everything. By the time he reached the end of his studies he realised that the theatre held so many opportunities in non-performance disciplines, which is when he found a training programme for producing and venue management and went on to work in theatres all across the country.
As artistic director at Haringey Shed, Aran is in charge of programming, vision and planning for the future of the venue or theatre itself. They shared how love of performance as a child led them to a fascination of how the set interacted with the performers, sparking an interest in what the job of a director entails.
The three touched on how Covid with all its challenges had actually sparked creativity within the industry. Not only did it make it necessary to branch out, learn new skills and adapt. It also taught people in the industry not to take things for granted and to really understand the value of what they do.
What advice would they would give students wishing to pursue a career in the theatre?
Conor drove home the importance of transferable skills. “Just because you don’t know a job exists, doesn’t mean it doesn’t” he said. General skills such as communication, collaboration, numeracy and the ability to forward think and plan are all key to roles in the industry.
“It is not just about acting, there are a myriad of other careers in the theatre world which are available”, Matt told the audience. From electricians to accounts and all the creative jobs in between, there is really something for everyone. Try not to pigeonhole yourself. It’s okay to study broadly and pick what interests you later.
Aran emphasised the importance of fulfilling your dreams. “Young people are the next generation of voices that can use art as a platform to make change in the wider world.” They urged students to think about what they want to change and how they can use art to change it. To consider their own personality, hobbies and loves, and think about how they can use these in a career.
And what about the budding young actors out there? Get your theatrical children involved in drama at a young age if you can. There is a bravery in the primary age that disappears with age, so the earlier you can support your child to get involved in drama the better.
“If you want to work in the arts, they are open to you” were Conor’s concluding words. He signposted the audience to some great resources to take a look at if they are interested in this career path:
ATG’s Creative learning workshops and courses
The TheatreCraft2022 free beyond the stage careers event at the Royal Opera House this October https://www.theatrecraft.org/
Producing workshops run by Stage 1 - https://stageone.uk.com/workshops
Listen to the talk: